patagonia organic merino

The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) was developed by leading standard setters to define world-wide recognised requirements for organic textiles. From the harvesting of the raw materials, environmentally and socially responsible manufacturing to labelling, textiles certified to GOTS provide a credible assurance to the consumer.

Merino sheep create a wool with a long, smooth fibre that is lightweight, warm, and soft. Like all wool, it has excellent breathability and does an excellent job regulating temperature in garments. It is a very popular type of wool to use for hand knitting yarn, and is a great choice for socks and garments worn close to the skin.

Mulesing is a controversial farming practice used, predominantly in Australia, to prevent the parasidic infection flystrike. While mulesing prevents infection, it is a very painful procedure for the animal to endure, and more humane alternatives exist. This practice is banned in many areas of the world. If a yarn is marked as mulesing free, that means that no animals were treated this way during the production of the yarn.